Ecuadorians celebrate Lenin Moreno’s triumph

The narrow victory of the successor of Rafael Correa is received favourably by a large number of the Ecuadorians in the United Kingdom. After winning more than 60% of the votes in the English capital, residents will celebrate the triumph on 27 April.

Lenin Moreno

The atmosphere at the TUC’s Congress Center was tense. On the outskirts of the precinct in London, where the elections were held to determine the new President of Ecuador, supporters of both candidates voiced slogans as if it were a football stadium.

Inside, however, everything was calm. The Ecuadorian consulate had provided more security and order following the large number of people who had come to vote for the first round.

And their estimations were not wrong. A total of 2,373 Ecuadorians – equivalent to 50.97% of the population – met on Sunday, April 2 to elect Rafael Correa’s successor, and in doing so surpassing the attendance of the first round.

The Ecuadorians were therefore able to cast their votes more smoothly.

Unlike what happened on February 19, when voters were faced with five different ballots, this time the process was more expeditious.

Although in Ecuador, Lenin Moreno won by a very narrow margin, in the capital of the United Kingdom the official candidate won with 60,98% of the votes, compared to the 39.02% of the opponent Guillermo Lasso.

Photo by Marcos Ortiz

Globally, Lenín Moreno’s victory is seen as an endorsement of the policies of the Latin American progressive left. After electoral setbacks in countries such as Argentina and Peru, in addition to the departure of Dilma Rousseff in Brazil, the Ecuadorian situation was analysed with special attention by the rest of the world.

The triumph also represents a setback to the US interventionist policies in the region, which was relying on the victory of the opposition candidate.

The victory won by Moreno will be celebrated by the Ecuadorians living in London at a meeting attended by representatives of other countries.

At the event to be held at the headquarters of Unite – the largest union in the United Kingdom – the presence of PAIS Alliance activist Alejandro Valverde is expected.

Photo by Marcos Ortiz

The Bolivian ambassador Roberto Calzadilla, the Venezuelan ambassador Rocio Maniero and the Nicaraguan ambassador Ricardo Carioni will also be present.